"Some people are denied those exact same benefits, even though they do the same job," said Karly Safar, a secretary at the Student Counseling Center.

Safar has had a domestic partnership with her boyfriend for the last year, and represents a growing number of opposite-sex partnerships in the U.S.

In 2000, nearly 5 million straight couples living together were not married. According to the Census, that jumped in the past decade, by more than a third -- all the more reason the state university should recognize domestic partnerships with benefits, according to associate professor Donna Braquet.

"For whatever reason you chose not to get married or may not be able to get married, these benefits should be offered -- equal access," Braquet said.

At a meeting Thursday night, several staffers gathered to discuss what to do next to get domestic partnership benefits on the UT campus.

"We will be effective in organizing people that support this," she said.

At the meeting, several staffers discussed personal stories of how the lack of benefits will not help the university retain faculty. They expect more meetings about the issue to come forth in the coming weeks and months.